Charles p



(No Model.) 7

0. F. RITGHEL.

TOY ANIMAL.

No. 289,562. Patented M 4, 1883;

WITNESSES: IN VENTOR ATTBRNEY 1 UNITED STATES PATENT CEEIQE.

CHARLES F. RITCHEL, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO. THE UNEXCELLED FIREWORKS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TOY ANIMAL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No, 289,562, dated December', 1883.

' Application filed March 14, 1883. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

contrived according to my invention.

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. Bureau, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toy Animals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a toy horse or other animal standing on a platform of a truck, and having extensions of the bottom of the feet through slots of the platform, and connecting with collars fitting under the platform and serving to hold the animal upright by means of its legs without other support,'the fore legs being connected to cranks of the hind axle and the hind legs connected to cranks of the front axle by rods jointed to them and the cranks,

and thus being made to slide along the platform when the truck is drawn along the floor on its wheels, to represent a walking or running animal, all as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a toy horse and longitudinal sectional elevation of a truck Fig. 2 is a plan of the truck inverted.

I take any "desired toy animal, a, having legs or limbs b, jointed to the body at c, or in any equivalent way or place suitably for working, as in the act of walking, creeping, trotting, or running, and being so as to support the body independently of any other support, and mount the said animal on the platform (Z of a truckor wagon, as if standing on the platform by the feet, or resting thereon by the hands and knees in case the figure of a creeping baby is to be represented, the feet or other members not being attached to'the platform,

but resting on it, and having an extension, e, from the bottom projecting through the platform, which has slots f therefor, and under the platform said extensions have collars or flanges g, which, together with the feet above, keep the animal upright, while the limbs are moved forward and backward on the platform by cranks h of the axles i, to whichthey are.

connected by the said extensions 6 and rod j, which, together with the platform for a guide,

enable the feet to move in a horizontal plane by connection with the cranks. In order that the collars being solid or integral with the extensions 6, and the feet may be connected with the platform, the slots have an enlargement, k, at one end and beyond the range of 5 5 the feet when in motion, through which said collars may be passed 'prior to connecting the rods j. In order to lessen. the effects of the angles of the cranks as much as possible, the fore feet are connected to the hind axle and the hind feet to the front axle, enabling longer connecting-rods to be used, by which the apparatus works easier and better. The cranks for the pairs of fore or hind feet are set at opposite centers, so that the feet of each pair will 6 5 move in opposite directions at the same time, thus causing the feet and legs to work in very close resemblance to the natural motion of the legs in walking, trotting, or other forms of animal motion. I propose to conceal the wheels of the truck, connecting-rods, and other work ing-gear by a canopy, m, suspended from the platform, in order that the motions of the legs will be more conspicuous.

An important feature of this invention consists of the lateral swaying motion of the body of a horse or other four-footed animal figure in very close imitation of the action of the natural animal, caused by the lateral play of the joints 0 as the legs work forward and backward;

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A toy animal or other walking or run ning figure standing or otherwise resting on the platform of a truck by its feet or limbs only, and having said feet or limbs connected to cranks of the truck-axles by jointed rods connecting the fore feet to the hind axle and the hind feet to the front axle, said feet and 0 limbs being thereby made to slide forward and backward on the platform when the truck wheels revolve, and said legs being the sole support of thebody, substantially as described.

2. A toy animal or other figure standing on 5 the platform of a truck, and connected thereto by extensions 6 of the feet projecting through slots of the platform, and having 001- In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in thepresence two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES F. RITOHEI.

\Vitn esses DWIGHT H. TERRY, F. P. NORMAN. 

